Insights

3 min read One important lesson from the COVID crisis is that diversification across real estate sectors is as important as ever. Over the last year and a half, commercial real estate experienced a tremendous roller coaster ride of valuation dips and recoveries. While many sectors of commercial real estate have rebounded nicely from lows experienced in mid-2020, there remains a lot of uncertainty and unknowns.
For many sectors of commercial real estate, 2021 was a good year. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, “The FTSE NAREIT Equity REITs index was …

2 min read … That’s according to Dave Meyer, VP of Data and Analytics at BiggerPockets. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fed distributed over $850 billion in funds to U.S. taxpayers since the CARES Act was passed by Congress on March 25, 2020. Increased monetary supply resulted in aggressive consumer spending. However, supply chain issues and labor shortages caused an imbalance in supply and demand- evident by the historic 6.2% spike in the Consumer Price Index- the highest it’s climbed in 30 years.
In response to surging demand, the Fed is raising interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating. Mortgage rates have been rising and will continue to track the Fed. Buyers anticipating the rise are flipping seasonal trends, escalating traffic and home sales well into the typical quarterly offseason. Traditional investors, who relied on safer bets (bonds, CDs, etc.) are now pursuing higher returns with options such as real estate because they’ve realized their cash is losing value. Desperation can be a strong motivator; a quick Google search shows that over half of home offers written by realtors across …

3 min read The US residential housing market has been on a tear for over a year and a half. The COVID19 crisis unexpectedly changed consumer home buying behavior, pushing more families into suburban locations with outdoor amenities and greater square footage. In addition, residential housing demand from millennials has increased substantially, making this demographic the single largest buyer. All of this is taking place at a time …

3 min read The strength in the current US residential housing market is most likely a long-term positive for the overall health of the US economy and has created a tremendous amount of wealth for homeowners. Strong housing demand, along with rising equity markets, and government stimulus were all a tremendous boost to US household wealth over the last year and a half and helped many homeowners weather the COVID financial crisis. The Wall Street Journal recently commented on this strength: “Home prices and stocks have soared, in part because of stimulus from the Fed. From …

3 min read The big story in residential real estate over the last few years has been the COVID crisis and its effect on demand for residential housing. This surge in demand has been primarily (but not solely) focused on suburban locations as large numbers of families migrated away from large urban centers. As the demand surged, prices followed suit. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, ““Rarely has the for-sale home market been more heated than in the past year. The median price …

2 min read Strong real estate markets continue to make the news. However, most of the reporting has centered around strong US single-family residential real estate. For good reason, too, as that market continues to experience historical demand. However, a bit less heralded, the US commercial real estate market …